Safe Sleep & Tummy Time

Published 06/08 2014 05:00AM

Updated 07/14 2014 05:29AM

I keep getting so many questions about "tummy time" Ever since the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that all infants sleep only on their backs (to reduce the chance of SIDS), parents forget or are afraid to put their baby's on their tummies. Tummy time is important to help reduce the incidence of head flattening as well as to give your baby time to develop different muscle groups.

Tummy time is encouraged from the first days after a baby's birth, but so many parents ask, "just how much time?" Tummy time does not mean "timed" in the sense that you do it for a certain amount of time or minutes a day. Tummy time, is not rigid.....it is flexible. Off and on throughout the day when your baby is awake, you let them experience tummy time.

Just like so many activities with a newborn, sometimes tummy time is for only a minute or two before the baby starts to fuss or cry. Other times an infant may enjoy their tummies for 10- 20 minutes before they are ready for a change.

At other times you put the baby on their tummy, they settle down and then decide to fall asleep. Keep in mind, you MUST turn them over, even if you are watching them. Remember, NO TUMMY sleeping until your child rolls over on their own.

So, many parents come in during the first days to weeks after their baby's birth with not only feeding charts, but "pee and poop" charts and graphs of tummy time down to the minutes. It is really not necessary to graph the amount of tummy time your baby gets, just make sure you remember to do it.

As your baby gets older, they typically enjoy their tummies for longer periods of time and are soon lifting their heads, supporting themselves with their shoulders and around 4 months will likely begin to roll from tummy to back. After that milestone it is not long before they start sitting alone and tummy time is old hat by then. Your baby should also have a beautiful rounded head from getting tummy time from the start.